State song finalists in perfect harmony

Palm Beach County residents met through their church choir.

January 6, 2008|By Rachel Hatzipanagos Staff Writer

Two Palm Beach County residents brought together music and song-writing skills to become finalists in the Florida State Song Contest.

Boynton Beach resident Carl Ashley and Lantana resident Betsy Dixon collaborated to write F lorida, My Home, and beat 240 other applicants. Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Ed Homan, R-Tampa, will propose a bill this year before the state Legislature to name the winning entry as the official state song, which is sung at state events, according to a statement from the Florida Music Educators' Association.

Ashley's musical background and Dixon's writing skills complemented each other as they worked on the entry for six weeks.

Dixon, 68, a retired accountant, discovered she liked to write a year and a half ago and has started work on a children's book. This was her first song, which was a challenge for her, because meter and rhyme become even more important in musical form, she said.

"Most of what I wrote is from experience," said Dixon, who has lived in Florida for 55 years.

Ashley, 39, has composed music for years and has a doctorate in choral conducting from the University of Miami.

The two met singing in the choir at Lake Osborne Presbyterian Church in Lake Worth.

"Carl is an invaluable part of the music ministry here at our church," said Larry Roff, associate pastor and music director at Lake Osborne.

Roff describes Ashley as a "renaissance man," who, in addition to singing in the choir, conducts magic shows for the Sunday school.

Dixon's writings, meanwhile, were a surprise to her congregation.

"She has a very soft-spoken, sweet disposition, and for many years she has taught our elementary-aged Sunday school classes at the church," Roff said. "Only through this have we discovered her skills in poetry."

The choir background is reflected in the tone of the song, which is choral and regal.

"My inspiration was America the Beautiful, so I wanted our song to sound reverent and patriotic," Ashley said. "We thought it should be something timeless, which is why I didn't want a pop-style song."

Another important element the duo wanted to include was reference to Florida staples such as orange groves, palm trees and panthers, they said. The two researched the state's emblems, such as the state flower (the orange blossom) and the state bird (the mockingbird).

While much of the time was spent on the lyrics, the music came to him quickly when Ashley sang a tune into his PDA and later notated it when he got home.

When Ashley found out about being a finalist, the first thing he did was call his wife, who later called family all over the country and her co-workers.

"I called everyone I knew to call," said Marie Ashley, 39, who also teaches voice.

Ashley and Dixon will await the results of the competition until the winner is announced Friday at the Florida Music Educators' Association convention in Tampa.

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To vote for your favorite song, go to JustSingFlorida.org. Florida residents have one vote per registration. Voting closes at midnight Thursday.

Rachel Hatzipanagos can be reached at rhatzipanagos@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6621.